Since last year’s BLADE Show, I have concentrated some of my spare time into making knives from the materials I purchased there (see last posting).  It has been slow going because I am rebuilding my small shop of tools, which were lost in an ex-wife’s hostile fire sale, from scratch.

I cleared out the front of my one-car garage and had to decide what I would need to buy from my modest discretionary budget.  Guess a work bench would be nice.  I bought a sturdy one from Husky.  Heavy sumbitch.

Thinking back, I had no desire to work from just files and sweat as I had when I made a few knives in the early 1990’s.  Back then, I had later purchased a Jet brand 1 X 42″ belt/disc grinder and I thought something like it would be just fine for what I wanted to do.  After shopping for power tools, I settled upon a Grizzly 1 X 42″ combo grinder and a small Grizzly bench drill press.  I ordered them.  When they landed, there was some assembly was required.

Everything went together well and ran as advertised when powered up.  So, a trip to the hardware store to buy files, drill bits, clamps, hacksaw blades, sandpaper, and other items was next on the list. I also began clicking through the online catalogs for Knifekits.com, Masecraft Supply Co., USAKnifeMaker.com, Texas Knifemaker’s Supply, and others to find ideas, materials, and additional supplies.  Oh, and I began leafing through back editions of BLADE magazine for inspiration.

My goal is to build three small fixed blade knives from the Alabama Damascus steel blanks and handle materials I purchased and greedily stuffed into my backpack at the BLADE Show.  I know it will be a long road, but I have some idea where it leads.  Onward and upward!  This is kind of exciting.

Wilson